Vice president for university advancement stepping down

Today, Clark University President David Fithian ’87 announced that Jeff Gillooly, vice president for university advancement, is stepping down from his position on June 30, 2022. Jonathan Kappel ’81, executive director of principal gifts, will be serving as interim vice president until a successor is named.

Gillooly oversees all fundraising, and alumni, families and friends relations efforts at Clark. He joined the University in 2015. During his time at Clark, Gillooly has made a significant impact through both transforming the Advancement division and achieving historic levels of fundraising.

Through Campaign Clark, Gillooly led the most ambitious fundraising initiative ever at the University. Publicly launched in 2015 with a goal of $125 million, Campaign Clark concluded in 2020 with $156 million raised from more than 16,600 donors, a record for Clark University. Funds from the campaign have supported student scholarships, endowed professorships, innovative research and creative endeavors, improved facilities and academic programs, and other gifts to the university’s endowment.

Critical to this success is a reinvigorated Advancement team which Gillooly reorganized to better support both fundraising and stakeholder engagement, including the creation of stewardship and donor relations departments. He also has driven the growth of a robust volunteer network, built around six Leadership Councils located across the country, and created new ways for Clark’s more than 35,000 alumni to engage with the University – including through a revamped Alumni Council, establishment of the Black Alumni and LGBTQ+ Alumni Councils, and launch of the “Graduates of the Last Decade” program to reach and energize young alumni.

“I am grateful for Jeff’s partnership and counsel over the past two years,” said Fithian. “He has moved our University forward in several important ways, most obviously through the highly successful fundraising efforts he has led, but also in the ways that he has modernized our Advancement organization and practices. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Ross Gillman ’81, outgoing chair of the Clark University Board of Trustees, was serving as chair during the final phase of Campaign Clark. “I am incredibly proud of what we were able to accomplish through the campaign and that success is due in very large part to Jeff’s steady and determined leadership,” said Gillman. “He helped us inspire an extraordinary display of generosity and commitment from the thousands who supported the campaign and, in the process, fortified our mission as a University.”

“Clark University is a very special place. It has been a privilege and an honor to work alongside so many passionate, driven, dedicated colleagues, alumni leaders, donors, and volunteers over the past seven years,” said Gillooly. “Our Advancement team is — hands down — one of the best in all of higher education and I could not be more thankful for or proud of our work together. It never is easy to leave such a fantastic group, but the time is right for a change and I am excited for a next challenge.”

Gillooly plans to remain in higher education. Clark will be conducting a national search to identify a successor.